Teen Lead program offers students a different view of the Lodi community

Janet Barrera acts as a City Council member Monday during a mock meeting at Carnegie Forum. The meeting was put on for students who participate in Teen Lead, a program that teachers the students leadership skills while showing them different parts of the community and how it works. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Teen Lead program offers students a different view of the Lodi community

By Maggie Creamer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 7:16 AM PDT

Comments (51 comment(s))

With career aspirations to be a lawyer and maybe go into public service, Tokay High School junior Navy Binning found out what it feels like to sit in Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce's seat in Carnegie Forum.

On Monday afternoon, Binning and eight other students each played a role in a mock Lodi City Council meeting to learn what it takes to run the city. The group often giggled and blushed as noses bopped the microphones and people forgot their lines.

"I learned it's not easy being a council member or helping people," said Kinsey Green, a Lodi High School sophomore.

The mock council meeting was part of Teen Lead, a program that lets high schoolers to learn leadership skills while exploring topics and occupations in the community. Some of the other topics include agriculture, education, business, environment, health and criminal justice.

"We want to broaden their horizons and see all the different parts of the community that make up Lodi," said Summer Pennino, the organizer.

Pennino, who is an adult adviser on the city's Greater Lodi Area Youth Commission, worked with student commissioners Joshua Gums and Emily McConahey to resurrect the Teen Lead program.

Pennino participated in the program in the late 1990s, and it stopped in the early 2000s, she said. One of the experiences she remembers is going to Waste Management and learning about all the rules and regulations the business needs to follow.

"I think I just saw aspects in the community that I didn't realize play a bigger role," Pennino said.

Twelve youths are participating in the program, but in the future, Pennino hopes to grow it to the maximum of 30 students.

Lodi City Clerk Randi Johl makes a fake public argument during a mock City Council meeting Monday at Carnegie Forum. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

The teens must be sophomores or juniors, fill out an application to join the program and send in a letter of recommendation.

All of the students must have at least a 2.5 grade-point average, participate in community and school activities, complete 20 to 25 hours of community service this year and attend 80 percent of the Teen Lead program sessions. The group will also do a community service project for Lodi House.

The program tries to have the meetings at night, but when necessary, they work with schools to get students excused for part of the day.

Lodi sophomore Janet Barrera said she joined the program after an English teacher recognized she had leadership skills and suggested she join.

Barrera hopes the class will let her take a bigger role in life, and she finds it helpful to be surrounded by teens also interested in leadership.

"Everybody has a very different point of view. You might change your point of view if you listen to everybody," she said.

Green said he is most excited about the criminal justice topic because he wants to tour the Lodi Police Station. While he does think it will look good on a resume, Green said that is not the only reason why he joined the program.

"Leadership skills are a good quality to learn because you use them wherever you go," he said.

What it's like to be on the council

On Monday, the issue of the day for the mock council was whether to reduce the city's curfew for teenagers from 11 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The youth city staff argued that the council should reduce the curfew to address concerns of loitering and noise. But some of the youth city council members were concerned about whether a early curfew would result in kids spending less money Downtown.

"Most of the kids don't bring enough money to eat out. ... Some of the older people are disturbed while eating at restaurants because teenagers can be rude sometimes," said Tyler Bartlam, who was playing the role her dad, Rad Bartlam, usually plays as community development director.

In the end, the mock council did not support the curfew.

By doing the simulation, the group not only learned that the council manages millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, but it also has to deal with angry citizen complaints. City Clerk Randi Johl and Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce, who is the council adviser to the youth commission, played the part of angry citizens.

"My electric rate is so high, I'm going to do what I can to get you recalled. Each and every one of you," Mounce said while portraying an angry resident.

Mounce explained that public service can be tough because people are constantly criticizing decisions made by the council.

"When it's a controversial issue and people are split on it, it can be tough," Mounce said. "You need to do you homework."

One of the main lessons Mounce hopes that the group took away from the government day is that they need to speak up in their communities.

"That is your right as a citizen, to be heard," she said.

Contact reporter Maggie Creamer at maggiec@lodinews.com or read her blog at www.lodinews.com/blog/citybuzz.

Mock City Council meeting players

Kim Hester
Lodi sophomore
Mayor

Kelley McConahey
Lodi sophomore
Council member

Allison Schatz
Lodi sophomore
City manager

Connor Alexander
Tokay sophomore
Council member

Alexandra Athanasiou
Lodi junior
Parks and Recreation director

Janet Barrera
Lodi sophomore
Council member

Tyler Bartlam
Lodi sophomore
Community development director

Navy Binning
Tokay junior
Council member

Kinsey Green
Lodi sophomore
City attorney

Other teens involved in Team Lead unable to attend the Monday mock council meeting:
Ranjot Basram, a junior at Tokay High School
Kylie Denton, a sophomore at Lodi High School
Holly Fyffe, a sophomore at Lodi High School

Kim Hester acts as the city of Lodi’s mayor Monday during a mock City Council meeting at Carnegie Forum in Lodi. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Reader Feedback

Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Sep 25, 2009 9:23 PM:

" Heheh "

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